# search_places

Search the Booyah Index of Southeast Asian local businesses across 14 cities — Bangkok, Singapore, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Phnom Penh, Yangon — restaurants, bars, spas, clinics, coffee, coworking & more, for the best matches to a query (e.g. "best khao soi in Bangkok", "rooftop bar in Singapore", "omakase in Thonglor"). Returns structured records: what each place is known for, rating, review count, and a canonical URL to cite.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `search_places`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/search-places

## Facts

- Tool: `search_places`
- Server: Booyah Index (`https://getbooyah.com/api/mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/https://getbooyah.com/api/mcp
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade C, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server CORS policy: *
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 4 (1 required)
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `city` | string | no | City filter, e.g. Bangkok, Singapore, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang |
| `limit` | number | no | Max results, 1-50 (default 10) |
| `query` | string | yes | What to look for, e.g. "khao soi", "rooftop seafood" |
| `category` | string | no | Cuisine/category filter, e.g. "Thai restaurant" |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "search_places",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "<query>"
    }
  }
}
```

## Why search_places is rated Low

This is a straightforward read operation that retrieves and queries publicly available business data. The tool searches a local business index and returns informational results without side effects, data modification, or execution capabilities. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—at worst, an agent could spam queries or retrieve aggregated business information, neither of which causes harm.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool performs a search query across a business directory and returns structured records (what places are known for, rating, review count, URLs) with no ability to modify, delete, or execute operations."

## Use case

AI agents call search_places to retrieve information from Booyah Index without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Booyah Index:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "search_places": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Booyah Index (5)

- `get_place` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/get-place.md
- `get_product` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/get-product.md
- `get_store` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/get-store.md
- `list_cities` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/list-cities.md
- `search_products` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-getbooyah-booyah-index/search-products.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=com-getbooyah-booyah-index · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/com-getbooyah-booyah-index